Common questions about our services
Who owns London City Healthcare?
London City Healthcare is a wholly owned subsidiary of London City Physiotherapy and is independently owned and operated. We are not influenced or aligned with any private hospital group or insurance business, so you can be confident you’re receiving independent and impartial advice at all times.
Can I always see the same Doctor?
Whilst we’re not intending to be a replacement for being registered with an NHS GP, we do pride ourselves on delivering continuity of care for all our patients. Unlike many services, especially online doctor services, this means you can always choose to see the same doctor.
What’s covered in my appointment?
Each of our standard 15 minute appointments is suitable to provide guidance and advice about one minor presenting issue. Discussion and advice regarding symptoms or treatment options is always included, as is the arrangement of additional tests (e.g. diagnostics/blood tests), onward referral to a specialist and/or prescription.
Please note, the number of medical conditions that can be discussed with the doctor are at the discretion of the doctor and you may need to pay for additional time if necessary.
Please note, if you have a complicated medical history, wish to discuss multiple presenting issues or wish to discuss obtaining a second opinion from our doctors, we would strongly counsel booking a 30 minute appointment at the outset. It is also often helpful to bring any relevant medical correspondence with you to the appointment.
When do I pay for my consultation?
Consultation fees are taken at time of booking. If you’re using our online booking system, this step happens automatically.
Payment can also be made via a debit or credit card over the phone, or by BACS payment (please ask one of our staff members for account details).
If your employer is paying for your consultation, we will automatically raise an invoice for their accounts department prior to the appointment.
With our sincerest apologies, we are no longer able to accept Cheques as a method of payment.
Why do you have a cancellation policy?
A cancellation policy applies to all appointments, because we are sadly unable to re-use the time booked for other patients without sufficient notice. You are most welcome to cancel or reschedule any appointments at any time, without any fee, right up to 24 hours before your appointment. However, with less than 24 hours notice to cancel or reschedule, or failing to attend the appointment, we do need to apply a 100% cancellation fee.
Although we do our utmost to accommodate every patient, please do let us know at the earliest opportunity if you are running late for your appointment. Sadly, we cannot guarantee to be able to see you if you do not arrive on time for a scheduled appointment and we will still need to charge for the time booked.
What if I’m running late for an appointment?
Whilst we’ll do all we can to accommodate every eventuality, we do ask that you arrive on time for any scheduled appointments. Sadly, because we would not wish to inconvenience patients who have following appointments, we cannot guarantee to be able to see you if you arrive late for your appointment.
The doctor may still be able to provide some help and support, although this is entirely dependent on their diary and cannot be guaranteed. We do still need to charge for any booked appointments, even if they are unused, as we are unable to re-use the time for other patients.
Please contact our team on 02072363334 if you think you may be late for an appointment and we will do all we can to help.
Do I have to pay for prescriptions?
Because a Doctor is taking clinical responsibility for any medication prescribed a nominal fee of £10 does apply to prescriptions provided outside a booked consultation. We’re pleased to waive the fee if a prescription is provided as part of your appointment, however, requests outside a booked appointment do incur the fee (e.g. repeat prescriptions).
The prescriptions we provide are private, not NHS prescriptions, so a fee will be due to any pharmacy that dispense the items. However, many private prescription fees are lower than the NHS minimum dispensing fee, currently £9 per item on the prescription (not the total for every item on the prescription).
Please note, we cannot provide prescriptions for many controlled drugs (like Barbituates and Opiates). All prescriptions are provided at the sole discretion of the doctor.
If you need a repeat prescription you will need to have follow-up consultations (additional fees apply) every three months, so we can ensure we are prescribing safely.
Can you provide prescriptions for controlled drugs?
No, we are not able to provide prescriptions for controlled drugs. We may be able to provide Schedule 4 controlled drugs (like some sleeping pills) at the discretion of the doctor.
What about repeat prescriptions?
We are pleased to be able to provide repeat prescriptions (subject to a £10 fee per prescription) for up to 3 months.
Can you provide “fit notes”?
Provision of a medical certificate certifying illness for work are only available if you have consulted London City Healthcare for the illness.
Please note, we cannot provide certification retrospectively for any illness that was not assessed by one of our doctors, unless you have a consultant letter, evidence of hospital admission or other appropriate documentation.
Please note, all certification is at the doctor’s sole discretion.
Can I be referred into the NHS?
There are very limited circumstances under which we can refer into the NHS, for example, regarding sexual health or acute care.
As all our referrals are for the private sector, we cannot generally refer into the NHS. With your consent (which are free to decline to provide) we will share any details of your consultation of treatment with your NHS GP.
Can I have a video consultation?
We’re pleased to provide remote video consultations for registered patients, however, we do not recommend video consultation as being appropriate for first-time patients presenting with a condition about which we have no history.
Whilst video consultations are potentially life-saving if you’re on a cruise ship or an oil rig, we think they are a poor alternative to a face-to-face consultation, if you have easy access to a GP in person.
For example, using a stethoscope can differentiate between the need to provide antibiotics or not (and given antibiotic resistance is one of the biggest threats to health we take prescribing safely very seriously) and it can even identify heart failure – none of which can be done with an online consultation.
What fees apply for your services?
Our professional fees are based upon the amount of time used, in minimum increments of 15 minutes.
Whilst we’re pleased to provide referrals, prescriptions and arrange other tests during a consultation, additional fees do apply to other services (e.g. blood tests).
If you are referred on for private treatment elsewhere, please do confirm the fees from that provider or specialist in advance. If you are planning to use private medical insurance to cover any fees, please do confirm if they are covered by your insurer and seek authorisation before commencing treatment.
Please click here for our current fee schedule.
What about out of hours support?
If you need support outside usual business hours, please email us. If you need immediate medical assistance outside our clinic hours please call NHS 111. Please call 999 if there’s an immediate risk of harm or abuse.
Please note, we do not provide acute (emergency) care or support.
Are there any services you cannot provide?
We are able to provide most elements of general practice. Sadly we are unable to provide acute or emergency care, surgical interventions of any kind, controlled drugs and coils or implants.
How can I comment on your service?
If you’d like to comment on any aspect of our service, either positive or negative, you can do so be emailing any member of our team individually via our support page.
You can also contact our Regulator the Care Quality Commission at any time too.